Now that the substantial number of adults have been vaccinated, some fully vaccinated as well, countries across the world are now focusing on the vaccination of children below the age of 18 years, Although no concrete decisions have been made yet.
Various meetings and discussions are being conducted on the topic of children being vaccinated. Doctors and child specialists have also been involved. All countries are already worried about the third wave arriving and have started making medical arrangements for children as this is the group which is most prone to the virus now because they haven’t been vaccinated yet.
While some countries are waiting for vaccinations to arrive for children, others are against getting vaccinations for children. Cuba is all set to start vaccination for children aged 2-18 years against Covid-19.
Schools would therefore be able to operate offline once this group is vaccinated. Children aged 12 and older will be the first to receive one of the two domestically produced vaccines, Abdala and Soberana, followed by younger kids.
At the same time, Indians are waiting for vaccination to begin for kids as eventually they would also be safe from the virus to some extent. Seeing the trend in the US, Indians feel the third wave could be dangerous for the kids.
Alongside US and Cuba, other countries that have already started vaccinating children above the age of 12 are France, Italy, UK, Israel, and Ireland.
While this being said, some countries like the UK are against vaccinations for children aged 12 to 15 years old. This was said by the UK government’s independent advisory body. They argued saying that the benefits of the vaccine for the children are ‘too small’.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, a panel of experts which advises ministers, has been weighing the issue after numerous other countries began giving the jabs to young teens.
It has previously recommended giving approved Covid vaccines to all 16- and 17-year-olds but only to 12- to 15-year-olds who have underlying health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the virus.
Before making this decision, the UK advisory group had apparently sought advice from top medical experts in the country. The decision has been made after concerns were raised over a rare side effect of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which is heart inflammation.
Heart inflammation could later result in chest pain and palpitation, and these complications may turn serious for certain people. Data from the United States indicate that there are 60 cases of children suffering from this Covid vaccine side effect for every million-second dose given to 12 to 17-year-old boys. When it comes to girls, this figure is eight in one million.
But all countries need to realise the fact that vaccinating children is an important process right now and more and more children need to be vaccinated at the earliest to avoid extreme situations and fatalities.
It’s true the vaccine has ill effects, but that happens only when a person has underlying problems in their bodies. Therefore, more than negative effects, there are more positive ones which save the children of the world from this deadly virus.
